University of Florida aims for 'zero waste' football games

The University of Florida has ambitious goals for their nationally recognized football stadium, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The UF Office of Sustainability is working to achieve the status of the first ‘zero waste’ stadium in the Southeastern Conference, and have already had remarkable success.

By the end of the last football season, 78% of the waste generated by the stadium was either recycled or composted — not sent to a landfill.

“This is definitely an initiative that we’re really proud of and we really want to keep the momentum going,” said Allison Vitt, the Outreach and Communications Coordinator for UF’s Office of Sustainability.

Everything sold inside of the stadium can be either recycled or composted, and signs around the stadium direct people to correct bins to dispose of the waste, Vitt said.

“I think the initiative is amazing,” said Sabah Pirani, a 20-year-old mechanical engineering junior. “Any kind of effort we put to make ourselves as a school more sustainable is commendable — especially as an institution of learning.”

The Office of Sustainability partners with the Waste Corporation of America and Watson C&D, who physically transport the waste to their sites to compost. The resulting soil amendments, which enrich the quality of the soil without artificial pesticides and fertilizers, are then sold to residents of the local community.

Some of the products even make their way back to UF for use on the campus.

“The sustainability office’s efforts could create awareness and help the environment,” said Gabby Rodrigo, an 18-year-old exploratory freshman. “It could inspire other schools too.”

Aiming to educate students about how to minimize their environmental impact, the Office of Sustainability relies on student volunteers to get involved with furthering sustainable practices.

“I think the university is the perfect place to really be a living laboratory for sustainability,” Vitt said.

Antara Sinha is a sophomore journalism/pre-med major at the University of Florida.

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